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Bathing and skin

I have heard/read that a dog should not be bathed too often because it can dry the skin, wash the oils off. I haven't given Zack very many baths, they have been weeks apart. I've been using the shampoo that the woman i got him from recommended, i can't remember the brand right now, but it's their oatmeal version, supposed to be gentle on the skin, not drying.

Now that Zack goes to the dog park, he gets dirty, especially the hair on his abdomin, and especially especially the hair on his pee pee, it really attracks pieces of dirt that stick on permanently (i've had to cut the hair off with scissors in that place a couple of times because i couldn't pull it off, at least not without pullling too hard).

I take him to the dog park almost every day.

I just gave him a bath Sunday morning. I don't mind leaving him a little dirty, most of it seems to fall off except for on his abdomin, but he is scheduled to be neutered on Saturday so i want to have him clean for that.

I'm wondering if anyone has had any problems with skin dryness from bathing, or if there are certain shampoos which don't wash the skin oils off, or if the dry shampoos are adequate. And i'm wondering if there are any guidelines about bathing cavaliers in particular, as far as frequency, how much would be too much?

It is important to brush them right away if they've been out playing and bits of leaves etc get caught in their fur. If I don't take those out (which may require carefully working them out by hand), they quickly form snarls that as you note, need to be cut out. It takes a long long time for long hair to grow back so you really want to minimise clipping out snarls. If it is dirt just soak it off.

You can also just rinse off his legs etc with warm water. Most dogs really only get dirty around their paws and lower legs. Leo wees on his front leg feathering and hits his belly as well at times, and I find it brushes out or rinses off with water pretty effectively and I keep some of the longer belly hair in the 'strike zone' trimmed back. A damp washcloth with some mild shampoo can be used to wipe down just the affected areas then wiped clean again with water on a cloth, or some use baby wipes as an easy solution for spot cleaning. These have the advantage of cleaning just the dirty coat and not the skin.

A (very) few vets will say every two weeks for a bath is the absolute maximum and many would feel that is far too frequently, and every month to three months is preferable. A long haired coat really needs the natural oils to be spread through it to maintain gloss and quality. Washing frequently strips all those out and can lead to a dry, cottony coat.

As Jen notes there were many sides presented in the previous discussion so I'd read through that and then make your choice.